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New York youth hockey coach charged with choking parent

An Amherst, New York youth hockey coach turned himself in Thursday to face charges of grabbing the throat of an opposing team's parent.

Michael Wulkan, 49, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing, a misdemeanor, and second-degree harassment. He is the coach of an Amherst 8 and Under youth hockey team.

According to court documents obtained by Scripps station WKBW in Buffalo, the encounter happened January 13th during an tournament at the Hyde Park Ice Pavilion in Niagara Falls.

Wulkan entered the locker room where the Niagara University Junior Purple Eagles 8U team was dressing and demanded the children move to one side of the locker room, court documents said. Both his team and the NU team were required to share the locker room. The players "were not moving fast enough," the victim told police, so Wulkan began moving their hockey bags and jerseys to the other side of the room.

The victim told Wulkan he was out of line and went to pick up his son's bag. When the victim turned around, Wulkan grabbed his throat and choked him, he told police. Several parents and coaches jumped in at that point to separate the men.

The Buffalo News reported Wulkan has been suspended from his coaching position by the Amherst Youth Hockey program. Wulkan is also an agent for several NHL players and at one time represented former Sabres forward J.P. Dumont, according to The News.

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